World Class Quality

Land of diversity and quality.

Chile’s unusual geography, which features a particularly long and thin territory in relation to its width, is certainly one of its many unique characteristics. With very clear natural boundaries, its northern limit is the Atacama Desert, one of the driest in the world, whereas in the south, it ends at the Patagonian glaciers. To the east, and all along the border, the limit is the great Andes Mountain Range, and to the west, the Pacific Ocean. Each of these barriers allows for healthy agricultural processes, almost organic by nature.

From north to south, the country has a large diversity of climates, but in the central and more traditional wine regions, it is mainly temperate Mediterranean. Rains concentrate in winter and spring, with a long dry season that continues through autumn. The strong influences exerted by the cold maritime Humboldt Current and the fresh breezes that descend from the mountains create a large temperature differential between day and night that is especially suited to the production of healthy grapes.

Even though Chile is a long and narrow strip of land, its territory presents a great diversity of landscapes. They are formed by both mountain ranges that run from north to south (the Andes and the Coastal), as well as by mountain chains that cross the country from east to west. These crossing ranges hold riverbeds that run in the same direction, which have formed, throughout millions of years, alluvial terraces that are especially valuable for growing vines.

This mosaic of climates and terroirs, combined with a viticultural sector with few regulations for growing and producing wines, explains the success of Chilean wines around the world. One example is Viña Lapostolle’s Clos Apalta 2005, which in 2008 won first place in Wine Spectator’s annual ranking of the best 100 wines in the world. Icon wines from Viña Errázuriz, Viña Seña and Viñedos Chadwick have likewise competed with surprising success against famous wines from the Old World in different versions of the so-called “Berlin Tastings.” Moreover, there’s Carmín de Peumo, the first high-end wine made entirely with Carmenere, Chile’s unique variety, that has been distinguished twice by earning 97 points from Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.

News

Sustainability is now a key topic of discussion throughout the wine community, and Chile is swiftly embracing the sustainable winemaking trend. A new article in Tidings Magazine’s October 2012 issue examines this topic, concentrating on Chile’s progressive efforts to produce and export sustainable wines. The article’s author, Merle Rosenstein, poses the question, “How do pest […]

By 2020, the wine industry of Chile is hoping to position itself as a leader in sustainability, a key component of the Wines of Chile’s strategic plan. This responsible and progressive goal reflects Chilean winemakers’ commitment to caring for Chile’s precious ecosystem while continuing to produce impeccable wines from rich and healthy terroirs. Educated consumers […]